Abstract des Autors

To investigate the effect of mental practice (MP) on reaction time (RT) to verbal information stimuli (VIS) and non-verbal information stimuli (NVIS) an experiment was conducted using a total of 200 top-level sports participants. The subjects were randomized into five VIS and five NVIS groups and tested individually in a four-digit choice-RT-task. The results indicated that MP can affect significantly and differently RT to VIS and NVIS. The reasons for physical improvement in RT, as a result of MP, can be accounted for in terms of a cognitive function which influences memory processes by constructing a superordinate context which coheres associations and establishes meaningful connections, or effective relationships, between stimuli and responses, and thereby, creates a higher degree of memory organization. The reasons for different physical improvement in RT to VIS and NVIS, as a result of MP, can be explained in terms of the functional asymmetries between the cerebral hemispheres for verbal information, non-verbal information and imagery processes. Verf.-Referat